Foot supporting means



28, 1932. w SCHQLL 1,864,949

FOOT SUPPORTING MEANS Filed Jan. 17, 1929 ivvsrfiar William M flak/05Patented June 28, 1932 PATENT OFFICE WILLIAM M. SCHOLL, OF CHICAGO,ILLINOIS roo'r SUPPORTING Marius Application filed January 17,1929.Serial No. 333,039.

This invention relates to improvements in foot supporting means, andmore particularly to foot supporting means of the character of archsupports, insoles, and devices of similar nature, although many andvaried uses may be made of the invention hereinafter described withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention, as will be apparent to oneskilled in the art.

In the past, many and varied devices of the character of arch supports,insoles, and the like, have been developed, but in most instances haveproven objectionable in that moisture emanated from or produced by thefoot of a user, or of moisture seeping through the footwear of a userfrom an outside source, tended to materially deteriorate these formerlyknown devices by causing the metal parts thereof, if any, to rust, or bycausing the other portions of these formerly known devices, such asleather, felt, etc. portions, to rot or become soaked to such an extentthat they would have to be removed from the footwear of a user anddried. In these formerly known devices, especially if the base meansthereof were made of felt or the like, perspiration from the foot of auser rendered them in a short time undesirable for further use.

The present invention has been designed to overcome the above noteddefects and objections in the provision of a device of a characterdescribed herein in which the base means thereof are fully andcompletely protected from moisture emanating from or caused by the footof a user.

The invention also seeks the provision of a foot supporting devicecapable of prevent ing moisture seeping through the lower portion of thefootwear of a user from contacting with the foot of the said user.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of an archsupport, insole, or the like, having moisture-proof means disposedbetween the base means and upper covering of the device.

While some of the more salient features, characteristics, and advantagesof a device embodying this invention have been above pointed out, otherswill become apparent from the following disclosures.

The invention includes these and other features of construction andcombination of parts hereinafter described, and shown in a preferredform in the drawing, as more particularly indicated by the claims.

On the drawing:

Figure 1 is a bottom plan view of a'device embodying features of thepresent invention.

Figure 2 is substantially a central vertical 3 In the structure selectedto illustrate an I embodiment of the present invention, there is shownan arch support including a base member 5 which in this instance isshown in the form of a metallic plate shaped so as to effectivelysupport the longitudinal arch and plantar region of a foot, but it is tobe clearly understood that the base member 5 may be composed of metal,felt, cork, or any desirable material of any desirable configuration.

To provide a more desirable and comfortable rest for the foot of a user,a flexible covering 6, which may be of leather or any suitable material,is provided to overlie the base member 5.

Disposed between the covering 6 and the base member 5 is a sheet ofwater or moisture-proof material 7, such, for example, as rubberizedsheeting, which as more clearly shown in Figures 1 and 2, may be cut toa size just sufficient to overlie the base member 5, leavingtheremaining portion of the covering 6 contact directly with the footwearof a user. As seen more clearly in Figure 4, the moisture-proof material7 is preferably secured in any desirable manner, for instance by asuitable adhesive, to the top covering 6 so that the same will alwaysflex with the covering and not tend to become loosened or to curl aroundthe base member or in some similar manner lessen its effectiveness. Boththe covering 6 and sheet of moisture-proof material 7 are preferablysecured to the base member 5 in any desired manner or as shown by therivets 8 to render the device one complete unit.

it-h the structure j'ust previously described herein, it is apparentthat the moisture-proof material 7 will effectively prevent any moisturetending to pass through the covering 6 from contacting with the basemember, and thus aid in the preservation of this base member, be thesame made of metal, felt, cork, or any suitable material.

In Figure 3 of the drawing there is shown a slight modification of thepresent invention, the structure being identical with that shown inFigures 1, 2 and 4 with the exception that the moisture-proof material,designated 7 in this instance, covers the entire undersurface of thecovering 6.

In this construction, the moisture-proof material 7 a not only preventsmoisture from passing through the covering 6 and contacting with thebase member 5, but also prevents moisture seeping through the lowerportion of the footwear of a used from contacting with the cover 6 orthe foot of the user.

Although the present invention has been shown and described herein inconnection with an arch support, it is to be clearly understood that theinvention may be equally as well used with an insole, heel pad, or anydevice of similar character.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that I have provided novel footsupporting means in which portions are protected from moisture caused bythe foot of a user, and which device is also capable of protecting afoot of a user from moisture entering the lower portion of the saidusers footwear, is simple in construction, very durable, and may beeconomically manufactured.

I am aware that numerous details of construction may be varied through awide range without departing from the principles of this invention, andI therefore do not purpose limiting the patent granted, otherwise thannecessitated by the prior art and the scope and spirit of the appendedclaims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an arch support of the character described, a metallic plate, aflexible cover for said plate, a sheet of rubberized material disposedbetween said cover and said plate for preventing moisture from the footseeping through said covering and contacting with said plate, and meansfor securing said sheet to said plate and said cover.

2. In an arch support of the character described, an arcuate plate, aflexible covering for said plate, and elastic moisture proof meanscontacting with the under side of that portion of said covering whichoverlaps said base plate.

nee aces 3. In an arch support of the character de- Illinois.

WILLIAM M. SCHOLL.

